Cheng Shaye-Ann writes a guide to the wonderfully confusing world that is the building of Cranmer.
As you might know, there are a few wonderful buildings that make up John’s (Linton, Haughton,
Bowes, 28 North Bailey, Cruddas and Cranmer), each with their own little quirks that make them
unique.
Cranmer is a special place. As a student who has had the privilege of residing there, I feel a
desire to express my gratitude for the little labyrinth of John’s and all of the wonderful hidden
gems it contains.
Firstly, I should clarify that in John’s, the term “cranmer” has more than one meaning. Cranmer
Hall is a theological college which forms part of St John’s College, along with the Middle and
Senior Common rooms.
Rather confusingly, St John’s College also contains a physical building named Cranmer, where students of both Cranmer Hall (studying theology under the Church of England) and Durham University (studying a plethora of degrees of various levels) live.
For the sake of this article, I will be using the term “Cranmer” in reference to the physical
building. So without further ado, here are some strange and wonderful features of this maze of a building.
Wooden spiral staircase
This is meant to be a fire exit, but I question how many people could actually get down this
staircase swiftly enough to escape a fire. Going down this staircase too quickly seems like a
sure-fire way to a huge headache rather than saving your life.
Countless hallways
While Cranmer technically has 4 floors, if they weren’t labelled A, B, C and D, I doubt that
anybody would know any better. There are seemingly endless doors leading into secret hallways that wind around forever.
Secret entrances
For a relatively small building, there is an abundance of entrances into the building that seem to
keep popping up. You need not look further than your hall of residence to get your fix of
adventure: it’s certainly a thrilling activity to find new ways to enter.
Cranmer C kitchen
An oddly large kitchen with a massive wooden table in the centre of it. It also functions as a
passageway to get from the narrow staircase to Cranmer. Whether it’s gym bros trying to get in
an extra protein shake or late-night pasta chefs: you never quite know who you’ll run into here.
Prayer Notice Boards
For anybody trying to deny our reputation as the religious college in Durham… these notice
boards certainly do not help. In the lovely lobby of the Cranmer building, you will be greeted by walls featuring labelled pictures of the fruits of the spirit and affirmations like “we are praying for you”. After a long day of lectures and attempting to finish off assignments, I suppose it’s a sweet message to come home to.
Random bathtub
Whether anybody actually uses it is a mystery.
Size inconsistency
The dorm rooms and kitchens are all (very much) varied in size- another fun addition to
Cranmer’s quirky personality. Cranmer is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.
And there you have it! Happy exploring to my fellow John’s residents!
John's Chronicle 